


Gone Too Long

by LifetimeMovie



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Ficlet, your pain pleases me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-21
Updated: 2012-05-21
Packaged: 2017-11-05 18:02:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/409381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LifetimeMovie/pseuds/LifetimeMovie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock gets an unpleasant surprise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gone Too Long

The flat, manilla envelope was unassuming, but Sherlock knew better. The only person who could reach him at this address was Mycroft. While he could track most of Moriarty's network, occasionally Mycroft would find a lead that he would send Sherlock's way.

But this time, it was different. The envelope was small, thin, not the usual dossier that contained persons, places and information, but instead, could only contain a few sheets.  
Sherlock hesitantly picked it up off of the table, weighing it in his hands before opening it and upending the contents into his hand.

Several sheets of paper fell into his hand, and one light piece of parchment. ‘Time’s up, Sherlock. -MH’

The green ink stared up at Sherlock, and froze him to the spot. He hastily tossed it to the ground before looking at the other sheets.

Photos. A woman. John. He stared at the photos, of John and this, this woman. John in a sharp cut tuxedo, smiling widely, genuinely. Not the manic smile he had always shared with Sherlock after a case, but the one that he might gift the detective with on a quiet day after a case, both lounging in the temporary calm. The sharp pang of remembrance hit Sherlock harder than he thought possible.

The woman was in all white, tastefully cut lace hinting at an elegant figure, without showing too much. Modest. John would like that. Her brown eyes alternately looked at the camera in some shots, and John in others. To Sherlock’s horror, the love in her eyes was mirrored just as intensely in John’s.

After pawing through all the photos with a phantom sting in his eyes, which he refused to believe were tears, he hastily went to place the photos back in the envelope. But one piece of paper remained, tucked inside. He carefully pulled it out, and his knees nearly buckled.

On a standard sheet of white paper, was a poorly photocopied image of a marriage license, between one Dr. John H. Watson and the newly named Mary J. Watson.


End file.
